Harry Potter and the Question of Doom!
by Asher Elric
Summary: Harry has a very important question to ask Ginny. However, will he be able to do it before dieing of nerves?
1. Chapter 1

Summary – Harry loves Ginny, however, how is he going to ask her?

**Harry Potter and the Question of Doom**

**The meaning of life is to give life meaning…

* * *

**

Harry James Potter paced the length of the living room. Outside the bay windows the sun was just beginning to rise, giving light to the otherwise dark morning. He sighed as he sat down on the couch. It had been another long, long, long, long, night. He hadn't had those in the longest time – well, not since he had decided to ask her.

Ginny Weasely was the love of his life and they had been dating for over a year now. Harry had wanted to wait till she had gotten out of school before they got serious again and Ginny had agreed. She was top of her class by the time she got out of Hogwarts and she was ready to jump back into the relationship.

Harry, for his part, had spent the time writing; Setting the older history books right and he had even helped Hermione with an updated version of "Hogwarts a History". All of the books sold well. Probably, he thought, because it had his name on it, even though Hermione always told him that it was good. She was his editor and so she would know good writing when she saw it.

They had been dating for a year now and Harry thought that it was about time to go all the way and ask her…THAT question…the question of which he referred to as 'doom'. However, the first thing he had to do was get the ring. The ring that would mean his commitment to her. Yes, indeed, that was the only thing he had to get.

"Now, how to go about it…" he muttered. He sighed and sat back. At least he had a place for them to live after the wedding (if they got married that is). The house was located in a small muggle community. Apparently, his grandparents had been very close to muggles and so had raised their son to embrace muggles and their oddities.

Harry wasn't sure if that was what had his father going after his mother or what, but it did explain some things about his father. The house had been closed up for the longest time when he moved in, but with some help from the Hogwarts house elves and his friends, the house soon became livable. The rooms most used was the kitchen, living room, his bedroom and the study.

The fire place roared green before someone tumbled out. Harry was only slightly surprised – but the red hair was a dead giveaway.

"Ron, what are you doing here?" Harry asked.

"Harry, we want to know when your going to ask her," Ron said.

"What?" Harry wasn't sure if Ron was talking about his newest book or about his sister.

"Ginny! Don't be a dork!"

"Oh, right…well….you support it?" Harry asked.

"I supported it in school didn't I?"

"Well, I wasn't very sure…even when we started dating," Harry sighed.

"Mate, I'd rather she date you than any of those other guy's she dated during Hogwarts years," Ron replied, he took a seat in a red, winged back chair. It was just as old as the house, but had been spelled to stay together at the seams. Harry gave him a look before standing and going to the kitchen.

He set the pot on the stove as Ron followed him.

"I want to propose," Harry informed his best friend.

"You want to propose to my sister?"

"You don't agree?" Harry turned.

"No, I mean...Yes…I mean, go for it. I know she loves you and I've heard her talk to Mum and Dad a lot about being married to you. I think she loves the idea," Ron shrugged.

"Great!" Harry lit up like a candle.

"Are you going to ask Dad though?"

"What? Of course I will! Why wouldn't I?" Harry gave him a puzzled look.

"Doesn't seem to be done now-a-days. Mr. Granger was surprised when I asked him for Hermione's hand in marriage," Ron said.

Harry remembered those days, Ron and Hermione had all ready been married for a bout a month and a half. Still going through those growing pains. But Hermione said that their school days had helped her with Ron. However, they did get along much better than they did.

"Right, and then he went and announced it to the family, and you had to produce the ring right then and there. Great timing," Harry smirked.

"Oh, shut up!" Ron glared.

Harry laughed as the tea kettle rang and he made two cups of black tea for them. They sat at the kitchen table in friendly silence. Ron usually came around at seven in the morning for their usual chat with tea. Black was his favorite and Harry always made black. Harry himself now preferred green, but it hardly mattered. What mattered was that they had a break from the women.

"Hermione and Ginny are going to go shopping later today, maybe we should go and look at some rings, that way you have that if my Dad decides to tell the family," Ron said.

"Why not, I think that's a good idea," Harry gladly agreed.

* * *

If you were a man, you probably wouldn't understand the significance of shopping among women with women. This outing was special because the women got to talk about things that they wouldn't be able to do in other company. Mostly about the guy's they liked, the sort of music they wanted to get or a movie they were planning to see. Hermione and Ginny are rightly girls in this light, and as such, Harry and Ron didn't really understand this.

Ginny held some jeans up to her waist to see how long they were.

"I wonder what Harry is doing about now…" she said.

"Writing, most likely, the book is due in over a month," Hermione shrugged.

"To you, but won't it come out next year?" Ginny asked.

"Yes, it's his first try at fantasy delegated towards muggles. He wants it to be perfect," Hermione shrugged.

"He's told me a lot about it, and he's using one of my idea's," Ginny grinned.

"That's nice of him,"

"Do you think he'll ask me soon?" Ginny asked.

"Ask what?"

"For me to marry him!?"

"I don't know…." Hermione looked perplexed, "But, I think he will, some time," Hermione said to put Ginny's nerves to rest.

"Of course, he has to ask Dad first," Ginny said.

"My Dad flipped out, announced it before Ron could give me the ring. So, Ron proposed right there in the middle of Christmas dinner," Hermione said.

"Yes, with all your aunts and cousins there. But they liked him," Ginny pointed out.

"Yes, now…what do you think of this?" Hermione asked, holding up a pink, button down shirt.

"I like it, the pink earrings Mum got you for your birthday would go brilliantly with that," Ginny supplied.

Of course, this is also what happens when girls go shopping and so we will skip to Harry and Ron. Who were currently standing in a shop of Jewelry. _Kendels shop of Jewelry_stood at the end of a long lane of Wizarding shops. It was Harry's first visit, but apparently, Ron had been there before.

"I bought Hermione's wedding jewelry here. It was the least expensive, but at least I can say that I got it from a real jeweler," Ron said as they walked into the store. However, Harry was not regaled by glittering diamonds or laces of gold necklaces. Instead, he was greeted with a very nice sitting room. It was decorated in an oriental theme. There were umbrella's on the ceiling, only four. One to a corner. Huge fans had been hung on the wall. There was a shadow box with a full kimono hung in it.

"Konichiwa, I am Kendel, what can I do for you?" the lady who greeted them was also dressed in a kimono. Her black hair was pulled back into a braid and she bowed to them.

"I'm looking for an engagement ring," Harry said.

"Kendel-san, this is my friend Harry," Ron said, giving Harry a look.

"Sorry, I'm slightly nervous," Harry said.

"Ron-kun, Harry-san, please have a seat," Kendel-san said as she slipped into the back room. Another girl in a kimono, she had to be about fifteen years old, came out with some tea. It was green, then Kendel-san came back with two other girls following her. She had three tray's of rings.

"What do you think Ginny would like?" Harry asked.

"Er – she likes the oriental stuff," Ron shrugged, "She liked that fan you gave her, anyway," he said.

"Howlite would be a gift worthy of an Empress," Kendel-san said, handing Harry a ring. The stone was in fact howlite, set with two small rubies and with a gold frame.

"Howlite, the stone of Memory and knowledge," Ron said.

"How did you know that?" Harry asked.

"Hermione is gathering materials for metals and gems for your book," Ron shrugged.

"Right, I forgot about that,"

"Looks like you need the howlite more than Ginny!" Ron laughed.

"That's not very nice!" Harry glared.

"What? It's true," Ron replied bluntly.

"Oh fine," Harry took a closer look at the ring. It was white with spider webs of black running around it. Offset by the rubies, it looked regal.

"I like it…" Harry said.

"Would you like to look at the others?" Kendel-san asked. Harry figured he had too since he wasn't sure exactly what he wanted.

* * *

Meanwhile, back at the muggle shopping center, Hermione and Ginny made a side trip to a book store. Ginny showed her friend the Manga section. She grinned as she showed Hermione that you read these particular books backwards.

"One of my friends at Hogwarts showed me, I borrowed all his manga over the summer," Ginny said.

"Wow, this is new," Hermione replied.

"Yup, I think you'd like Rurouni Kenshin the best! Made me want to research the history of Japan," Ginny said. Of course, this was followed by the run down of the manga plot and who was hot next to whom. Hermione wasn't so sure about this manga thing, but Ginny bought her the first three in the series.

"If I don't like it, I'll just give the books back to you," Hermione said.

"Whatever you want to do, trust me, they are good!"

* * *

It had taken Harry less than ten minutes to know that the Howlite ring was the one he wanted. The other jewels, though good quality, didn't have the attributes he had wanted in a jewel. Therefore, he bought the howlite.

"Thank you for coming, Harry-kun, I hope your fiancé loves it," Kendel-san said as she saw the two boys out. Harry sighed in relief.

"I'm glad that's over!" Harry muttered.

"It ain't, yet, you still have to ask Dad. And Saturday night dinner would be the best time to do it," Ron replied.

"Oh, great,"

That was three days away…

* * *

When she got home, Hermione found Ron lazing around on the sofa with the Wizard net on. She smiled at him as she closed the door.

"So, how was your day?" she asked.

"Great, Harry got the ring for Ginny," Ron replied.

"Oh?"

"Howlite, he couldn't take looking for long, though, I picked the first one I saw," Ron said. Hermione looked at the simple diamond she wore.

"I like it," she shrugged and put down her shopping bags.

"So, what did you get?" Ron asked.

"I got some new work clothes, though Ginny talked me into jeans and some books," Hermione said.

"What sort of books?"

"Manga, they are illustrated,"

"Can I see?" Ron asked.

Hermione showed him and was able to show him how to read them.

"Backwards! This is weird!" Ron proclaimed. Hermione just laughed at him.

* * *

A/N – Hi! This will only be three chapters long. It's a very short fic, but I don't care. It's a prequel to the married life of Harry and Ginny. It's part of my Family Saga Series. The first part to this was **The cold room, Can I call you Dad? And A Family Summer.**

**_Note -- _**I added Japanese suffixes on the ends of some names because I love manga and Anime and Kendel-san was supposed to be Japanese. That is why her jewlery house is oriental and her kids wear kimono.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Summary – Harry must rehers!

**Harry Potter and the Question of Doom!**

**Part two!**

**All the World is a stage!**

* * *

"Ginny…" he looked serious, "would you…be my wife…?" he asked.

He glared at the mirror as he decided to change his approach. Maybe not being up front and personal would work.

"Ginny, would you spend the rest of your life with me?" he tried again. The face in the mirror gave back the same nervous look that Harry was shooting at it. Hermione had said that practicing would help me. However, he wasn't so sure. How could he be romantic but not stuffily so? It was a mystery that he wasn't exactly sure he could solve before Saturday night.

Two more days and he would have to ask Mr. Weasely for his only daughters hand in marriage. It was a Wizarding tradition, while the muggles chose to follow this tradition or not, Hermione had informed Harry that if he did not ask Mr. Weasely before hand, than Ginny would most probably reject him because of it. Apparently, tradition was very important.

"I hate tradition," Harry muttered (1). He sighed as he turned away from the mirror, he passed his bedroom without a glance, and continued on down the hallway and stares till he entered the living room. Hermione had made herself comfortable on the couch with all of her books.

"I've picked these up for you," she said as he sat down in a chair.

"What are they?"

"Books on tradition, Ginny's family are purebloods, so I suppose they might adhere to some of them," Hermione said.

"Like the asking of the hand in marriage?" Harry asked.

"Yes, and Mr. Weasely might ask you some important questions; like what you would like to do in the future, where the family would live and if there would be enough money for everyone, well, you and Ginny. Ron was surprised when my Dad didn't ask him that last part – I told him it was because my Dad just wanted to see me happy," Hermione said.

"Ah," Harry nodded his head.

"Anyway, read this one first, it doesn't have much detail to it, but it'll give you the basics," Hermione handed him a book, it was more of a pamphlet, but Harry didn't mind.

"Thank you Hermione," Harry said.

She grinned at him, "Not a problem."

She stood and grabbed her book bag, "I've got to go home now, Ron said he would have dinner ready, but I'm pretty sure he burnt the house down," she said. Harry handed her the pot of floo power. He waved at her as she disappeared into the fire place. Harry sighed as he put the pot back in its place. He picked the book back up to see what was so important about it.

**Wizarding Tradition for Muggles** by _Emily Edwards_

A Wizarding book that was probably written by a muggle for a muggle, what was the world coming too? However, Harry figured that he might as well sit down and read it since there was nothing better to do.

_So, you want to know ALL ABOUT WIZARDING TRADITION! DO YOU? Well, that is what I am here to inform you about. The first thing you have to know is that this book is just the basics, if you want to know more you have to go looking for other books, savvy? All right then. _

_Asking for the Hand – Asking for the young woman's hand is the most IMPORTANT tradition EVER! If you don't do this, the family will reject you forever and you might even get cursed. So, ask the father first! Good grief!_

_The Ring – Now, if you are reading this and have all ready gotten a ring. I hope it's the right one! For instance, you must pick a ring that has good attributes. Nothing that means depressing things. It's bad luck for the bride!_

_Asking the Bride – The ring means two things to the bride. First, it means that you promise certain things to her. You promise to love and care for her. Second, you promise to help her with whatever she needs. In a Wizarding family, there are certain things that the Groom must pay for. _

_Her flowers._

_her wedding band._

_Her wedding jewelry._

_A wedding present._

_The wedding cake._

_Must pay half the bill for a church, if applicable, and the reception._

Harry gave the book a look; he didn't know that the Groom had so many responsibilities! He shook his head as he put the book down. It only had about five pages, but he honestly did not feel like reading on at all. It was then that his phone rang.

"Hello?"

"**Hello? Harry?**" it was Ginny.

"How are you dear?" Harry asked.

"**Good, Harry – are you coming over on Saturday?**" Ginny asked.

"Er – I must have forgotten to tell you…"

"**That's just like you! But it's all right. I'll tell Mum! By!**" Ginny replied and hung up. Harry shook his head as he put his receiver down. She must be very excited. He hoped that Ron hadn't said anything to her, that would ruin the surprise. However…There might be a hint or two for her.

* * *

Ginny could be a very excitable girl when she wanted to be. It was much to her surprise when there came a knocking at their back door. Non of the alarms around the Burrow had gone off and so Ginny assumed it was someone she knew. Since her mother was busy upstairs, Ginny answered the back door.

"Mistress Ginny, Ma'am! Is gots a present for you from Master Harry Potter!" it was Kreatcher. The house elf had made a drastic change and loved Harry like Dobby had till the day he had died. Ginny was glad, for Kreatcher wasn't so scary as he had been. She took the gift from him.

"Thank you, would you like a snack or anything?" she asked.

"Nos, Is gots to get back to the Master!" and with a bow, Kreatcher popped away. She laughed a bit as she brought the gift inside. It wasn't wrapped in anything much, the hand was wood and it was covered by a dark red velvet curtain. Ginny considered calling her mother down, but taken by this surprise she decided to see what was underneath this curtain.

When she pulled it away; a bird of such golden beauty took her breath away. The Snidget was a bird of such legend that it was very much respected amongst the Wizarding world. She had seen a few at the Animal Emporium in Diagon Alley, but only that store was allowed to sell them. There was a note attached to the handle of the cage.

_Dear Ginny,_

_I hope you enjoy._

_Yours forever, Harry_

Short and to the point, that was Harry James Potter. She giggled as she watched the bird flit around. Then she became serious, the bird stopped and looked at her.

"Whatever am I to call you?" she asked the bird. It chirped at her. She shook her head as she went to call fro her Mother to see what Harry had sent her.

"What are you going to call it?" George asked.

"I'm not sure, I thought of Genji (2)" Ginny replied.

"Why would you name it that?" George looked surprised.

"Unlike you, I like reading muggle books," Ginny sniffed.

"Oh, fine, whatever!" George gave up.

"Don't be silly! I think it's a great name!"

"If you think so," George shrugged.

"Ginny, you do know what this means, right?" Arthur asked his only daughter.

"Yes, Harry means to marry me!" she giggled.

"Yes, but he hasn't asked me yet. I think he may on Saturday," he replied.

"I'm not worried," Ginny said. She grinned as she took up the cage to go and find a place for Genji in her room.

* * *

Ginny looked over her book on Haiku as the day turned to night and twilight was suddenly upon them; she looked out the window, the light green curtains waved in the heavy summer breeze wondered into the room. Genji was pruning his wings before yawning widely. Ginny smiled as she got up off her bed, she wished the bird a good nights sleep before she covered the cage.

Her usual night time ritual consisted of washing her hair, brushing said hair, changing into her pj's she crawled under her coverlets. The lamp went out as he head hit the pillow and now only moon light dazzled the room.

She sighed as she thought of Harry, she had sent of a thank you note that afternoon. He had responded with a love/poem letter with a golden rose attached to it. The rose had real gold as the petals as the stem was green glass. It was very nice and Molly had given Ginny a vase to keep it in. Within the confines of her room, the rose was a gem hidden within a trash heap (for it was lovely amongst the rather threadbare looks of her room).

Ginny giggled, Harry wasn't good at any sort of prose, though she could see where Hermione had probably helped him out a little bit. As she went to sleep, she thought of the next day, trying to make sure that the excitement did not build up to a point where she could not sleep at all.

* * *

A/N – Okay, here is the second part. I hope you all like it.

1) A Captain Jack Sparrow reference! yay for me!

2) Historical note – Genji is the main character in "The Tale of Genji". Go read it, it is a good book!


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